


Trading Advice

by Arioch



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Gen, Post-Trade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-04 07:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6648244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arioch/pseuds/Arioch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luongo gets an unexpected call.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trading Advice

Lu has almost fallen asleep when his phone starts ringing and wakes him. He answers with a groan, sitting up and leaning securely against Tropius. It’s probably Eddie – he’s been snapchatting Lu face swaps between Helioptile and Floette all afternoon. Not that those aren’t cute, but Lu was determined to doze the day away. It’s summer, after all.

“I’ll look at them later.” He mumbles into the speaker. Well, it’s probably the end with the speaker.

There’s a drawn out silence at the other end then: “I think I have the wrong number.”

Definitely not Eddie. “I don’t know. Who are you?”

A long drawn out sigh. “I was actually hoping this would be Luongo.”

Whoever is talking to him sounds resigned and honestly, that’s not a mood Lu has inspired for a while. He reserves it for himself. “Then you’re lucky, because that’s who you got. What’s up? I can probably give you some advice, as long as it’s not about your glove hand.”

“This is Sharpy, Patrick Sharp, actually. So, no goalie advice today.” Oh, no wonder he sounds like that. It hasn’t been 24 hours since he was traded. Moving on from a long time team is not a happy task.

“Well.” Lu says, trying not to make it awkward. “Shouldn’t you be calling Adam Burrish instead?” And… failed.

Sharp gives him a pity chuckle. “I already did, but he couldn’t help. Corey gave me this number instead, so you know who to blame.”

Lu waits him out. Sharp isn’t that chatty normally, he’s probably trying to burn nervous energy. He’s dealt with Eddie enough to recognize the signs.

“I… Ok, we, stop glaring Abby dearest. We have a Lapras and now we have to move it to Texas. It’s not on top of the list of worries, you know, but for the rest you can get contractors. But…”

_…we’ve got 485 limbs heavy, eight plus feet shoulder height water and ice pokemon and we’re moving to the desert_ Lu fills in.

“Yeah.” He agrees.

“So, how did you manage in Vancouver, with Tropius?” Sharp asks. At the mention of its name, Tropius lifts her head, roaring quizzically at the speaker. Lu strokes her neck to calm her down. She might think it’s Eddie who’s been spoiling her rotten. He certainly calls often enough.

“I guess manage is a good word. Mostly kept indoors during the winter, which sucked. But there are accommodations – there always are, in cities as big as Vancouver. We did a lot of hot spa days. The fans made her a fruit warmer and a throw blanket.” That had been a hilarious sight. “It was awesome. And Dallas got like, lakes, right? You can see them when we fly there. You can go swimming there; that will help with the cool down. And for the rest… it’s not like we don’t need AC ourselves.”

Sharp says nothing for a while and Lu keeps himself occupied by scratching Tropius’ fruit. They’re almost ripe again.

“I guess. It just. It sucks. We got him originally for transport – to get the kids and luggage from Chicago to Thunder Bay in the summer because the lakes are just not as crowded – and now he helps putting them to bed with singing and they love climbing him and. It would just break their heart to have him leave. Even if he’s going to hate Texas.”

Yours, too, Lu thinks and keeps to himself. “Living in Vancouver, it sucked a lot for Tropius. It was inconvenient; she never got enough exercise and always yearning to go back to Florida. It was hard to see her. At the end, it was almost as if she was only happy in the summer. But, the first years.” Lu swallows because this is hard. This is his fault. Tropius nuzzles him forcefully, almost knocking him over, until he can continue. “She didn’t have that. It wasn’t easy but we weren’t miserable. She was reacting to me, noticing when I went from being upset about games to being upset about the pressure. Being a failure. Keeping a Lapras in Texas, it’s not going to be easy. But you can make him, as long as you stay happy there. You got it?”

“I got it.” Sharp sounds so serious. It’s not a mood that fits him. “Thank you for the advice. I’ll go easy on you when we beat the Panthers for the Stanley Cup.”

“You wish you could get in the playoffs.” Lu snorts. Not his best, but it makes Sharp laugh. Finally.

“Just you wait. But really, I owe you one. Have a good summer, Bobby Lu.”

“And you, Sharpy.” Lu murmurs back. He doesn’t know if Sharp caught it or hung up first.

Lu settles back against Tropius. He’s got a few more days before he has to get back into training. He pulls up Eddie’s snapchat. Tropius gets back to sleeping behind him. Life is good in Florida.

**Author's Note:**

> Eddie:  
> [Helioptile](http://pokemondb.net/pokedex/helioptile) \- They make their home in deserts. They can generate their energy from basking in the sun, so eating food is not a requirement.
> 
> [Floette](http://pokemondb.net/pokedex/floette) \- When the flowers of a well-tended flower bed bloom, it appears and celebrates with an elegant dance.
> 
> Luongo:  
> [Tropius](http://pokemondb.net/pokedex/tropius) \- The bunch of fruit around its neck ripens twice a year and is delicious. It’s a highly favored tropical snack.
> 
> Sharp:  
> [Lapras](http://pokemondb.net/pokedex/lapras) \- It ferries people across the sea on its back. It may sing an enchanting cry if it is in a good mood.


End file.
